


These Are The Reasons (I Want My Family Happy)

by Krasimer



Series: And Now a Flower Grows 'Verse [4]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Child Frisk, Dad W. D. Gaster, Established Sans/Toriel, F/M, Frisk wanders into the Void, Gaster that's gay, Gender-Neutral Frisk, Good W. D. Gaster, Goopy W. D. Gaster, M/M, Minor Sans/Toriel, Mom Toriel, Most days anyways, Non-Verbal Frisk, Post-Pacifist Route, Rescue the Goopdad, Scientist Sans, Sign Language, kingdings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-03-26
Packaged: 2018-05-29 07:50:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6365470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krasimer/pseuds/Krasimer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk brings Gaster home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	These Are The Reasons (I Want My Family Happy)

It is a special sort of hell that allows someone to watch the one they love be with someone else.

It's even worse when the one they love is still in love with a memory.

Gaster slipped between timelines, his hands clutched in front of him as he tried to find a place to curl up. He didn't often need sleep, but when he did, the need was immediate and harsh. He'd fought it a few times, only to drop where he stood and wake up mostly disassembled, spread across the Void in drips and crackles. It had been extremely unpleasant, and he didn't wish for it to happen ever again.

Responding to his thoughts, a shelter formed from the darkness, allowing him to curl inside of it.

At least, when he needed to rest, he was allowed to do so in a comfortable manner.

 

~

 

"Alright kiddo, you sure about this?"

Frisk nodded, tightening the rope tied around their waist and tugging on it a few times to make sure it was secure. When that was finished, they gave Sans a thumbs-up, nodding again. 

Sans nodded as well, taking a moment that seemed like a deep breath. "Okay, you're the craziest kid I ever met." he pressed a few buttons, typing something into the computer before pushing a sliding bar up. "You'll only have a few minutes, and if you don't get out in that time, you're gonna get trapped there."

Signing something, Frisk shook their head.

"What?"

They signed it again. 

"Kid, even if you could-"

Pure determination showed on Frisk's face, and Sans nodded. "Alright. Just- Make sure you come back, alright? It'd be awfully bonely without you here, and Tori's heart would just about break in two if she found out you were gone forever." his grin wilted a little. "And I would miss you somethin' terrible as well."

Frisk gestured at the wall they were using as the base of what they were doing, motioning for Sans to get on with it. A smile on their face, they watched as the portal opened slowly, expanding to the size they had estimated.

Once it was open far enough, they rushed in, not looking behind them for a second, too focused on getting the task done. Sans watched as the slack in the rope started to pull taut, worry in his eyesockets as he monitored the screens surrounding him. "Good luck kiddo, this is the hardest thing you've had to do yet."

The numbers on the screen flickered, the letters surrounding them switching into another language for a second, symbols flashing familiarly.

 

Inside the portal, Frisk barely paused to look at their surroundings before rushing on ahead. 

The darkness around them was lit sporadically, pulses of light like quasars and stars moving around their head as they ran through it. For a while it seemed as if they were just running on an endless track, no progress actually being made. Their legs were starting to ache and they were breathing heavily, their sweater sleeves flapping with their movement as they tried to keep progressing, but not seeming to get anywhere.

Until they were suddenly in a different space.

Around them was a twilight-grey 'Sky', several shapes being held up in it. The closest one wore something that was recognizable as a labcoat, their claws familiar in a way. Frisk grinned as they used the slack in the rope to loop it around each figure, anchoring them in a way they knew would get the group back home. The missing scientists would finally be able to see their families again. 

They continued on, slipping through the Void some more, making faces when the texture of the air changed.

Their watch beeped, a timely reminder of how few minutes they had left until the portal would destabilize and trap them if they didn't hurry back. Frisk swallowed nervously, eyes scanning for the last person, the one they knew was there somewhere. 

W.D. Gaster had been missed by his family.

Frisk rubbed at the back of their neck, the familiar prickle of fear rising once more, for the first time since they had faced Asgore. Since they had faced down a corrupted, soulless version of someone who had thought of them as an old friend, confused on identities and how much time had passed.

Ahead was a small structure, the first thing that seemed really out of place in the entire world around them, and they raced towards it, their watch counting down the last four minutes before everything would shut down.

Circling around it, they kneeled down and saw a ball of darkness, darker than the Void around them.

With barely a pause, Frisk prodded a hand against it gently, then again when it shifted. 'Please,' they thought, watching as it slowly unrolled, revealing the damaged face of a skeleton monster, 'Please work.'. The eye sockets were dull and empty, the face of a sleeping creature, and their watch told them they only had three minutes left, the seconds clicking away faster than they thought was right.

Both hands now, Frisk shook the shoulder they saw for a second.

The eyesockets gleamed suddenly, sending them backwards onto their butt, startled at the suddenness of it. One eyesocket had an orange light, the other held a blue one, and they were both watching Frisk. 

Stumbling a little, Frisk pulled a folded up piece of paper out of their pocket, showing the creature the message written on it in dark letters. ' _ **Please follow me,**_ ' it said, the urgent scrawl Frisk's own writing. ' _ **We only have so much time and I want to get you home.**_ '. They held the paper with one hand as they motioned towards the rope still holding them, the unmoving monsters still attached further down.

The shadowed monster looked at the rope, their hands shaping a few letters. 

Frisk nodded, signing the same. 'Home.' they repeated against, glancing at their watch. One and a half minutes left, draining away with every breath they took. A tug on the rope made them whip around again, their hair going into their eyes as they grabbed it and tugged back, holding their other hand out to the creature they had found.

It was taken by the cold, boney hand of the monster.

Their watch beeped out another warning, thirty seconds remaining. 

Frisk closed their eyes, dropping to the ground and holding on tight to the one they had found. 

Twenty seconds.

The monster held them tightly as well, hands glowing blue and orange, face pressed close against Frisk's hair.

Fifteen.

The Void around them shuddered just as the pull of the rope went completely taut, dragging the both of them out of the collapsing portal.

 

"Kid, c'mon kid, wake up, look at me and wake up, please!"

"Human, please open your eyes!"

"My child, you need to wake..."

 

When Frisk opened their eyes, they were in their bed, blankets pulled up to their chin and a plate of food on the table next to them.

Their room was quiet, the same as it always was, and it was dark outside. The sun was going down, and the smiled as they slid out of bed. Their bare feet hit the carpet and they took an apple from the plate, wandering out the door and into the living room. Outside their room, they could hear voices, a mixture of Papyrus's yelling and Sans's muttering overlaid with Toriel's gentle calm.

"That was dangerous," Toriel scolded. "I am surprised you even let them do that, Sans! They could have been seriously hurt, why would you even let them? They're a child, they do not need to be running through portals, especially not into places we do not know much about."

Sans sighed, and Frisk smiled at the annoyed tone in his voice. "When I was working on the research for it, they saw the numbers and asked what it was about. When I explained, they sort of...Demanded that I let them help. My original decision was to go in myself, but they wanted to go in, pointed out that the reset power over the timeline might be helpful." a pause, then he spoke again. "I shouldn't have let them, but-"

"What I still don't get," Papyrus interrupted, his voice louder than the others. "Is who they rescued. Who is that? A bunch of them look like scientists, but that's just even more confusing! Why were there scientists in a portal?"

"...Paps, we need to talk about somethin', and I..." another sigh. "The last monster Frisk rescued from the Void is a monster named W.D. Gaster. He was the royal scientist before Alphys was, and he- He's really important, alright? He's the one who built our house in the Underground." yet another pause, Frisk taking the time to slip down the stairs and watch between the railings. "He's really important, and- and-" 

They could see the soft blue of magic tears on the skeleton's face.

"Sans," Papyrus pulled his brother into his side. "Who is he?" for once, his voice was soft, like he was afraid of what was about to happen. "Why did he build our house?"

"Because he's our-" Sans rubbed the cuff of his sleeve across his face, wiping away the tears. "Pap, he's our dad."

Toriel smiled at the brothers, getting up from her seat as Papyrus held Sans tightly, spotting Frisk on the stairs. "Oh, you're awake!" she smiled at them, coming around to the bottom of the stairs. "Come here, I'll get you some more food. You must be starving," she held out her hand to them, her smile growing when they took it. "As upset as I am that you did something so dangerous, I am very proud of you. You helped a group of people return home when it was thought to be impossible."

She lifted their joined hands as she entered the kitchen, rubbing the back of a finger against the top of Frisk's head. "I am so proud of you," she whispered. Her voice turned sterner for the rest of her sentence. "But I am also upset! You could have died."

"That's not that different from what they did while running around the Underground." came a voice. Both of them looked up, spotting Undyne at the other end of the kitchen. "I-" she broke off, rubbing at her arm. "One of the monsters they rescued is my mom. I never really knew what happened to her, and my dad fell without knowing either." she rubbed nervously at her arm. "My mom worked as a scientist and my dad was the head of the guards before I was." she grinned at Frisk's raised eyebrows and head tilt. "Yeah yeah, I guess it's just a family pattern thing to fall in love with a really smart scientist...But anyways." she crossed the room until she was right next to them, dropping to her knees to hug Frisk tightly. "Thanks, kid."

Frisk used their free arm to hug her back, letting her hide her face, her earfins wiggling gently.

 

~

 

When Gaster woke, it was to softness and hardness and lights and darks.

Textures he hadn't seen for ages, time passing in odd drips and flows in the Void. He raised a hand to block out the light, expecting a half-liquid arm to come into view as he did.

So of course he startled when an actual arm came into view.

He still wore the same sweater he had been wearing when the CORE had taken him, and when he sat up to look at himself, the rest of the outfit was the same as well. His lab coat, tattered and worn, was slung over the back of a nearby chair. His shoes were off as well, leaving his bare bones exposed. He looked...Normal, almost. There were still holes in the palms of his hands, and when he felt his skull there was a fracture coming from his eye to the top of it, but he was mostly whole again.

The world around him was fuzzy, and he scowled as he realized his glasses were missing. 

"Ah, no need for such a foul look, my friend." came a soft voice from off to his right. "You've been gone for so terribly long, and I know you must be irritated at the loss of some things, but you are home again." the voice was a low rumble, promising strength even at it's softest tone. "Even if home is different from what it once meant."

He knew that voice.

That was a voice he had dreamed about, one he had had daydreams of for years before the CORE took him, and even more so after the fact. Asgore Dreemurr, the King of the Underground, the one he had loved for decades without an ounce of returned affection. He had been content enough to be at his King's side, serving him as a scientist looking for a way to free their people.

And now, Asgore settled into a chair that was nearly too small for his bulky form and smiled up at Gaster where he still sat in the bed.

"W-" his voice was rusty, unused for what felt like an eternity. "Where are we?"

Asgore's face brightened. "We are in one of the rooms in Toriel's house. She lives her with her partner and their child. You've met their child, a human named Frisk." he grinned, his eyes full of happiness. It was a welcome change from the sadness and despair he remembered seeing in the King's eyes, and it warmed him to his center. "They pulled you from the...I think they called it the Void? I am still learning how to speak in handsigns from them, so I may have gotten that wrong. Their voice abandons them at times, so they know how to speak with their hands." his smile turned a little sly, a look that set something inside of Gaster on fire. "Much like a scientist I know and remember."

"...Aboveground?"

"Yes," Asgore nodded. "Frisk broke through the barrier, helped us all through it. Monsters are still integrating with humans, and we have much to learn about each other still."

Gaster smiled. "My upset w-was about my sight, King Asgore." he said softly, a hand moving from bracing himself upright to cover his eyesocket. "My glasses have disappeared. I fear they disappeared in the wreckage of the day I vanished."

"I can help with that," Asgore's voice was soft again. "When we were retrieving things to move up here, there was a small room we found with some stuff in it. There was a box with a pair of glasses in it, a strap connecting around the back of them. I kept them, though I did not know why. When Frisk brought you back through, I knew why." he pulled them out of his pocket, rubbing the lenses clean on his shirt before handing them over.

"Thank you," Gaster took them, sliding the strap over the back of his skull as he settled the glasses over his eyesockets. "That is much better."

They were an older pair, but it brought the world into clarity. 

Asgore looked older, stress and laughter having fought to carve their lines into his face, but he was still him. His horns were just as sharp as they had ever been, his eyes were just as kind, and his form was still as solid. Gaster smiled, adjusting them again. "I kept them for the sake of having an emergency pair," he explained. "I left them in my office so that I could have them if my others broke."

"That is a good plan." Asgore nodded. 

They sat in silence for a moment, the skeleton's hands twisting together in his lap. His soul burned at the closeness, the air between them different than he remembered. Something about the King was new, more settled and welcoming than before. It made his ribs ache, the warmth he felt inside spilling over.

"What of my sons?" he asked finally.

"Sans and Papyrus are in the other room," Asgore began slowly. "Papyrus is learning to be a chef now that we no longer need a royal guard, and I think he is happy with the change. Sans is..." he frowned, a small glimmer of annoyance in his eyes. "Sans is in love, and I wish him the best with it."

Gaster studied his face for a moment. "In love?"

"Toriel and I are...Tentatively friends." Asgore explained, putting the pads of his fingers together. "She and Sans are raising young Frisk, having become their parents."

Gaster wanted to hate himself for the sharp rush of hope those words caused in him. 

He did hate himself for it, his sins crawling up his spine.

"Are you feeling well?" 

It was the quiet concern which caught his attention, and he nodded. "Is it possible to see my sons?"

"Yes," Asgore stood up, offering a hand to Gaster to help him do the same. "I will take you to them." he smiled when Gaster took it, standing up on shaky legs. "If you fall, I will be here to help you back up again."

The skeleton nodded, sliding his feet into the slippers next to the bed. "These are mine."

"We found quite a few things in that room, and I am glad to see that they benefit you now." Asgore led the way, careful paws on Gaster's shoulder and holding his hand. "I brought them with the thought that you might not wish to put your shoes back on after such an ordeal. I had hoped you would not be in much pain, but in case you were..."

"Thank you." 

The King nodded, helping him into the living room. Sitting on one of the couches were two other skeletons, and the smaller one immediately looked up when they entered. "Dad!" he grinned, his eye flaring a brilliant blue for a second. When Papyrus looked up as well, Gaster felt his soul clench tight, like he hadn't been breathing for an age while looking at them. 

"My boys," he whispered, allowing Asgore to settle him on the couch next to them, wrapping them in his arms the moment he was close enough. "Oh my sons, my precious boys."

He felt Sans's hand go tight around his arm, and he smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> So, uh...I was excited to write this part, and I am happy to have it come out this way. Gaster is kind of really gay for Asgore. Time will tell if Asgore realizes this.


End file.
